Maintaining Your Aid

Credit Progression

Students must make satisfactory academic progress towards their degree. All students must meet the cumulative standards. Satisfactorily completed credits are those for which grades of A, B, C, D, H, P and S are earned. Non-credit course work and transfer course work applicable to the degree (limited to the number of credits accepted into the degree) is also included in this calculation. Incomplete grades are included in attempted hours and excluded from earned hours until the course is graded; if an instructor provides documentation that the course will be completed with a passing grade, the credit may be included in earned hours.

Students who have attempted 150% of the number of credit hours required by the degree or certificate will be ineligible for financial aid. Non-credit course work will not be included in the calculation of maximum hours; failing grades, withdrawals, and course repetitions are included in attempted hours. Students are permitted to repeat failing and ‘D’ grades and maintain federal financial aid eligibility. Students who have exceeded the 150% ceiling may ask to have their file reviewed to determine federal financial aid eligibility. The following course work can be excluded from the calculation of maximum hours: coursework not applicable to the current degree program due to changes in major, transfer credit not applicable to the degree program or beyond the number of credits acceptable for transfer into the degree program, previous degrees, and developmental coursework.

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point index. Refer to Standards for Academic Probation and Dismissal for detailed information.

Any student not meeting Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) must file a Financial Aid Appeal form. Upon reinstatement of federal aid, students are expected to meet the SAP standards at the conclusion of the reinstatement term. This period is considered 'Financial Aid Probation'. Students who are unable to meet the federal SAP requirements after completion of their 'Financial Aid Probation' period, must complete 75% of all attempted courses during and after the reinstatement term (s).

Program pursuit is defined by the State Department of Education as receiving a passing or failing grade in a certain percentage of a full-time course load. This percentage increases from 50 percent of the minimum full-time load in each term of study in the first year for which an award is made, to 75 percent of the minimum full-time load in each term of study in the second year for which an award is made, to 100 percent of the minimum full-time load in each term of study in the third and each succeeding year for which an award is made. Minimum full-time load at Jefferson Community College is 12 credit hours.

Academic Progress is defined by the State Department of Education as a standard of satisfactory academic progress including the successful earning of a minimum number of credits with a minimum cumulative grade point average at the conclusion of each semester. The following chart displays, for each financial aid payment sought, how many credits a student must accumulate toward graduation and the grade point average to be eligible for the payment.

Students who are or were registered for 6 credits of developmental coursework during their first semester of receiving TAP will be evaluated on the top chart.

Students not meeting these requirements will be denied state aid for one year or until they make up their academic deficiencies. For students who have already utilized the equivalent of four TAP payments (24 payment points) and have less than a 2.0 cumulative grade point average, sitting out one year will not reinstate their eligibility for TAP and APTS. The student may not apply for a waiver of the 2.0 requirement.4

Appeals for Reinstatement of Financial Aid

If a student does not meet the standards for Title IV or NYS Aid, the student may appeal for reinstatement of aid due to mitigating circumstances. These reasons must be well documented in writing with determination by the Financial Aid Petitions Committee.

Total Withdrawals and Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Students who officially or unofficially withdraw from all of their courses are subject to the Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy. The student’s eligibility for federal aid is recalculated for any student who completely withdraws, stops attending classes, or is dismissed during the semester. This ruling affects federal financial aid only.

This policy governs the amount of federal student aid the student has earned; our institutional refund policy governs what charges a student may owe (see Tuition Refunds). This policy may result in a student having to repay portions of their federal financial aid. A student earns full financial aid at the 60% point of the semester.

Return of Federal Title IV Funds Policy

Section 484B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (Public Law 105-244) requires a return of Federal Title IV funds for students who withdraw from school on or before the completion of 60% of the payment period.

The institution will make a determination of the percentage of grant or loan assistance earned for the period the student attended during the payment period. If the student has received more grant and/or loan assistance than the amount earned, the institution, the student or both are responsible for returning the unearned funds as the law specified.

The student, or parent for a PLUS loan, is responsible for returning the difference between the unearned aid disbursed and the amount the institution will return. Loan funds that a student must return, or parent for a PLUS loan, are repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. In the case of grants, PELL and FSEOG, the law provides that the student's responsibility for returning funds is reduced by 50%. Arrangements can be made for returning grant overpayments by contacting the Department of Education.

Funds are required to be returned to the Title IV programs, up to the total net amount disbursed from each source, in this order:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
• Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan

3. Federal Direct PLUS Loan
4. Federal PELL Grant
5. Federal SEOG
6. Federal Irag and Afghanistan Service Grant

The school will advise the student or the parent in the case of a PLUS loan, in writing, if they are eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement for grant or loan assistance earned and not credited to outstanding charges on the student's account.

The student, or parent in the case of a PLUS loan, may accept or decline some or all of a post-withdrawal disbursement. To accept all or some of the post-withdrawal disbursement, the student or parent, in the case of a PLUS loan, must respond to the institution's notification within 14 days of the date that the institution sent the notification. If a student, or parent in the case of a PLUS loan, does not reply within 14 days of the date that the institution sent the notification, the school will assume that the post-withdrawal disbursement has been declined and no further disbursements will be made.

R2T4 Withdrawal Exemptions

Under the September 2, 2020 final regulations, the Department of Education established withdrawal exemption criteria which, if met, allows a student who has withdrawn or otherwise ceased attendance to not be considered a withdrawn student for Title IV purposes, which means that no R2T4 calculation is required for that student. Prior to conducting an R2T4 calculation for a student who has ceased attendance during a payment period or period of enrollment, the school will review the student’s circumstances to see if the student qualifies for any of the R2T4 withdrawal exemptions.

The withdrawal exemption categories are as follows:

1. Withdrawal exemption for graduates/completers
   • A student who completes all the requirements for graduation from his or her program before completing the days or hours in the period that he or she was scheduled to complete is not considered to have withdrawn
   • This exemption applies to all types of programs (including those with or without modules)
2. Withdrawal exemptions for programs offered in modules
   • A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes one module that includes 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period,excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules
   • A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes a combination of modules that when combined contain 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period,excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules
   • A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes coursework equal to or greaterthan the coursework required for the institution’s definition of a half-time student under 34 CFR 668.2(b) for the payment period

A student only needs to meet one of the withdrawal exemptions to be exempt from R2T4.

Unofficial Withdrawal

If a student begins attendance, has not officially withdrawn, and fails to earn a passing grade in any registered courses, the institution must assume, for Federal* Aid purposes, that the student has unofficially withdrawn, unless the institution can document that the student completed the period. Recalculation of federal aid eligibility is required using the last documented date of attendance or the 50% point of the semester if the last date of attendance is not available.

Financial Aid Warning

Students will be reviewed for Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each semester. Any student not meeting the Federal SAP regulation after their first semester will be placed on 'Financial Aid Warning'. This status will allow students one more semester to reestablish financial aid eligibility. Any student not meeting the Federal SAP requirements at the end of the 'Financial Aid Warning' period will be required to submit a Financial Aid Appeal form with documentation to be place on 'Financial Aid Probation' for one more semester.

Any student who loses aid after the 'Financial Aid Probation' period will no longer be eligible for financial aid at Jefferson Community College until they have reestablished Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.

Please Note: All students who are academically dismissed from Jefferson Community College are not eligible for federal or state financial aid until reinstated to the college and reviewed by the Financial Service Office.

Financial Aid Probation

Students who have previously lost financial aid and are eligible for reinstatement may be placed on Financial Aid Probation. Students with GPAs below 2.0, low course completion rates, and multiple dismissals or withdrawals, will be considered for probation. Students will be notified of the probation status in writing. Probation may include delayed disbursement of student loans and financial aid refunds, and periodic attendance verification.